Batad

I have made numerous trips to Batad without a guide but this little rascal intrigued me with his offer of 50 pesos for a tour of his village.

His mother, Lillian Lahhin, is one of the regular guides and her sons desire to joining the ranks of the other guides was kind of inspiring.

These terraces are getting more difficult to maintain as more and more locals find employment elsewhere..

It is hard work tending to these fields and many of the younger people want to work in the city instead of on the farm.

Buy-A is in his 70′s and still is strong as an ox and works these fields regularly.

July is a wet month in Batad. The mornings are usually sunny but the afternoon rains can start as early as 2pm. It’s best to get an early start for hiking or taking pictures. Only one crop of rice a year is grown here.

I got a late start and got caught by the rains.

Buy-a had the most beautiful piercing eyes.

Batad well might be the most heavily photographed terraces after Banaue.

Traditional dwellings in Batad.

There are erosion problems during heavy rains when the stone walls collapse and several terraces might be destroyed.

UNESCO and other groups finance the rebuilding of the damage.

Locals that are skilled at making these stone walls rebuild these terraces by hand and then carry the earth back uphill so the fields can be used again.

I was told that a crew would take about 2 weeks to repair the damage pictured here.